Second wave of operations against IMM... First comment from AKP: 'Özgür Özel cannot say I vouch for them'

A new operation has been carried out as part of the ongoing investigation into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). In line with the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on charges of 'establishing, managing, and being a member of an organization for the purpose of committing crimes', 'rigging bids', 'bribery', and 'qualified fraud', teams from the Financial Crimes Investigation Branch conducted simultaneous raids on numerous addresses in Istanbul, Ankara, and Tekirdağ in the morning hours.

Within the scope of the operation, 47 people, including high-level executives working at the IMM, were detained. It was stated that detention warrants were issued for a total of 53 people.

Some of the notable names for whom detention warrants were issued are as follows:

IMM Deputy Secretary General Arif Gürkan Alpay,

İSKİ General Manager Şafak Başa,

İSKİ Deputy General Manager Begüm Çelikdelen,

IMM Zoning Director Ramazan Gülten,

IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's Chief of Staff Kadriye Kasapoğlu,

Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Municipal Police Murat Yazıcı,

IMM Technology Group Head Erol Özgüner,

Former Head of Cemetery Affairs Department Ayhan Koç,

Gözdem Ongun, wife of Medya A.Ş. General Manager Murat Ongun, who was arrested in the March 19 operation,

Cevat Kaya, brother of IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's wife, Dilek İmamoğlu.

Police teams conducted searches and examinations at the addresses of the aforementioned individuals.

FIRST STATEMENT FROM AKP

The first statement regarding the operation from the AKP came from Deputy Chairman Hasan Basri Yalçın. Making evaluations during an NTV broadcast, Yalçın emphasized that the legal process should be respected.

In his statement, Yalçın said, "I think we need to respect the legal process. The CHP has pursued politicizing the issue. As the ruling party, we are careful not to give in-depth statements while the legal process is ongoing."

Stating that the CHP does not address the allegations of corruption and theft in its statements, Yalçın said:

"Özgür Özel cannot say, 'I vouch for them, there has been no corruption in the IMM.' Instead, a perception campaign is being carried out with expressions such as street protests, vandalism, boycotts, and accusations of a junta."

''CHARGES WILL BE REVEALED WITH THE INDICTMENT''

Reminding that the operation is comprehensive, Yalçın said, "In the first operation, more than 100 people were detained, and now detention warrants have been issued for more than 50 names. The judiciary is acting with a broad operational perspective. When the indictment is prepared, the charges will be clearly revealed. The court will make the decision and everyone will see," he said.

News Source: 12punto